whatnot

1 of 2

pronoun

what·​not
ˈ(h)wät-ˌnät,
ˈ(h)wət- How to pronounce whatnot (audio)
: any of various other things that might also be mentioned
paper clips, pins, and whatnot

whatnot

2 of 2

noun

1
: a nondescript person or thing
2
: a light open set of shelves for bric-a-brac

Examples of whatnot in a Sentence

Pronoun You can use the container to hold paper clips, pins, and whatnot. the drawer is full of spare pens, paper clips, stray elastics and whatnot Noun the store sells an array of whatnots for the do-it-yourself plumber
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Sinden’s light gun has been a recent—if seriously expensive—alternative, but that’s a more boutique route that’s geared toward PC users, requiring fiddling with settings and ROMs and whatnot. Mitch Wallace, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024 The problem is, the rider has to reach down and manually flip that lever, which isn't all that doable when the trail is rapidly changing back and forth between being smooth, rooty, uphill, downhill or whatnot. Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 26 Sep. 2024 The Harry’s Law veteran (and, sure, Oscar winner and whatnot) gets big speeches and alternating silly and very serious beats as part of the narrative’s expansion beyond a case-of-the-week format. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Sep. 2024 There were never any roles to stop following or to take on or whatnot. Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 6 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for whatnot 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whatnot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Pronoun

what not?

First Known Use

Pronoun

1540, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of whatnot was in 1540

Dictionary Entries Near whatnot

Cite this Entry

“Whatnot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whatnot. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

whatnot

1 of 2 pronoun
what·​not ˈhwät-ˌnät How to pronounce whatnot (audio)
ˈhwət-,
ˈwät-,
ˈwət-
: any of various other things that might also be mentioned
hummingbirds and hawks and owls and whatnot

whatnot

2 of 2 noun
: a light open set of shelves

More from Merriam-Webster on whatnot

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